Early life[edit]
He was born at Haddington, East Lothian, the only son of the Scottish
king
William the LionWilliam the Lion and Ermengarde of Beaumont. He spent time in
England (
John of EnglandJohn of England knighted him at
Clerkenwell PrioryClerkenwell Priory in 1213)
before succeeding to the kingdom on the death of his father on 4
December 1214, being crowned at Scone on 6 December the same year.
King of Scots[edit]
In 1215, the year after his accession, the clans
Meic Uilleim and
MacHeths, inveterate enemies of the Scottish crown, broke into revolt;
but loyalist forces speedily quelled the insurrection. In the same
year Alexander joined the English barons in their struggle against
John of England, and led an army into the
Kingdom of EnglandKingdom of England in
support of their cause.[1] This action led to the sacking of
Berwick-upon-TweedBerwick-upon-Tweed as John's forces ravaged the north.
The Scottish forces reached the south coast of England at the port of
DoverDover where in September 1216, Alexander paid homage to the pretender
Prince Louis of France for his lands in England, chosen by the barons
to replace King John. But John having died, the Pope and the English
aristocracy changed their allegiance to his nine-year-old son, Henry,
forcing the French and the Scots armies to return home.[2]
Peace between Henry III, Louis of France, and Alexander followed on 12
September 1217 with the treaty of Kingston. Diplomacy further
strengthened the reconciliation by the marriage of Alexander to
Henry's sister Joan of England on 18 June or 25 June 1221.[3]

Alexander the warrior and knight: the reverse side of Alexander II's
Great Seal, enhanced as a 19th-century steel engraving. Legend:
Alexander Deo rectore Rex Scottorum (Alexander, with God as his guide,
king of the Scots)

The next year marked the subjection of the hitherto semi-independent
district of
ArgyllArgyll (much smaller than the modern area by that name, it
only comprised Craignish, Ardscotnish, Glassary, Glenary, and Cowal;
Lorn was a separate province, while
KintyreKintyre and
KnapdaleKnapdale were part of
Suðreyar). Royal forces crushed a revolt in
GallowayGalloway in 1235 without
difficulty;[2] nor did an invasion attempted soon afterwards by its
exiled leaders meet with success. Soon afterwards a claim for homage
from Henry of England drew forth from Alexander a counter-claim to the
northern English counties. The two kingdoms, however, settled this
dispute by a compromise in 1237.[1] This was the
Treaty of YorkTreaty of York which
defined the boundary between the two kingdoms as running between the
Solway Firth (in the west) and the mouth of the River Tweed (in the
east).
Joan died in March 1238 in Essex. Alexander married his second wife,
Marie de Coucy, the following year on 15 May 1239. Together they had
one son, the future Alexander III, born in 1241.
A threat of invasion by Henry in 1243 for a time interrupted the
friendly relations between the two countries; but the prompt action of
Alexander in anticipating his attack, and the disinclination of the
English barons for war, compelled him to make peace next year at
Newcastle.
Alexander now turned his attention to securing the Western Isles,
which were still part of the Norwegian domain of Suðreyjar.[1] He
repeatedly attempted negotiations and purchase, but without
success.[2] Alexander set out to conquer these islands but died on the
way in 1249.[4] This dispute over the Western Isles, also known as the
Hebrides, was not resolved until 1266 when
Magnus V of NorwayMagnus V of Norway ceded
them to Scotland along with the Isle of Man.[5]
The English chronicler
Matthew ParisMatthew Paris in his
Chronica MajoraChronica Majora described
Alexander as red-haired:
"[King John] taunted King Alexander, and because he was red-headed,
sent word to him,
saying, 'so shall we hunt the red fox-cub from his lairs."[6]
Death[edit]

Coat of arms of Alexander II as it appears on folio 146v of Royal MS
14 C VII (Historia Anglorum). The inverted shield represents the
king's death in 1249. The blazon for the arms was Or, a lion rampant
and an orle fleury gules.[7]

Alexander attempted to persuade Ewen, the son of Duncan, Lord of
Argyll, to sever his allegiance to Haakon IV of Norway. When Ewen
rejected these attempts, Alexander sailed forth to compel him, but on
the way he suffered a fever at the Isle of
KerreraKerrera in the Inner
Hebrides.[1] He died there in 1249 and was buried at Melrose Abbey
Wives[edit]
1. Joan of England, (22 July 1210 – 4 March 1238), was the
eldest legitimate daughter and third child of
John of EnglandJohn of England and
Isabella of Angoulême. She and Alexander II married on 21 June 1221,
at York Minster. Alexander was 23. Joan was 11. They had no children.
Joan was Alexander's 3rd cousin, their closest common ancestor being
Henry I of England. Joan died in
EssexEssex in 1238, and was buried at
Tarant Crawford Abbey in Dorset.
2. Marie de Coucy, who became mother of Alexander III of Scotland. She
was Alexander's 3rd cousin once removed by their common ancestor Hugh
I, Count of Vermandois.
Fictional portrayals[edit]
Alexander II has been depicted in historical novels:

Sword of State (1999) by Nigel Tranter. The novel depicts the
friendship between Alexander II and Patrick II, Earl of Dunbar. "Their
friendship withstands treachery, danger and rivalry".[8]
Child of the Phoenix by Barbara Erskine.

Ancestry[edit]

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